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IBM has spent years developing RAS capabilities for mainframes and mission-critical servers. The IBM eServer™ pSeries™ 630 has been able to take advantage of this knowledge and experience with customer requirements.
The following features provide the pSeries 630 (p630) with UNIX® industry-leading RAS features:
- Automatic First Failure Data Capture and diagnostic fault isolation capabilities
- Self-healing internal POWER4™ processor array redundancy
- Industry-first PCI bus parity error recovery
- Scrubbing and redundant bit-steering for self-healing in main storage
- ECC and Chipkill™ correction in main storage
- Fault tolerance with N+1 redundancy of power and cooling, dual line cords, and concurrent maintenance for power and cooling
- Predictive failure analysis on processors, caches, memory, I/O and DASD
- Processor run-time and boot-time deallocation based on run-time errors (Dynamic Processor Deallocation and Persistent Processor Deallocation)
- Deallocation extended to memory
- Fault avoidance through highly reliable component selection, component minimization and error mitigation technology internal to chips
- Concurrent run-time diagnostics based on First Failure Data Capture for power, cooling, and I/O subsystems
Excellent quality and reliability are inherent in all facets of the p630 server. These capabilities are designed to help ensure that the p630 operates when required, performs reliably, efficiently handles infrequent failures in a nondisruptive fashion, and provides timely and competent repair in many cases either concurrently or on a deferred basis to allow operational resumption with minimal inconvenience. Mainframe-inspired diagnostic capability based on internal error checkers, First Failure Data Capture, and run time analysis of all internal error check states is provided for all CPU, memory, I/O, power and cooling components, which are designed to eliminate the need for recreating failures.
Reliability is one of the most significant factors in the design of all IBM products. RAS is an integral part of the p630—and AIX 5L™ philosophy which is based on our high-end server, the pSeries 690. It begins with the development of architectures, where RAS innovations are of paramount importance. It flows through design and product development stages, where RAS designs are reviewed, assessed, developed, evaluated, and perfected. It continues through the manufacturing and release processes, where the manufacturing quality is extensively measured and is under continual evaluation. It culminates in service and support; where the reliability is consistently monitored for deviation from the criteria, where warranty and maintenance have high priority, and where significant customer problems are assigned to and addressed by an expert team.
All of the development processes, from the architectural and concept phases of development, through the manufacturing process, and culminating in the provision of service and support are ISO-certified and audited periodically for ISO compliance by representatives of Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
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